


Veritas

by TreesInYourEyes



Category: Dreamer Trilogy - Maggie Stiefvater, Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Adam feeling loved, Harvard University, Home, M/M, One Shot, Some angst, Summer, The Barns, The Raven King - Freeform, a bit Bluesey, and Henry - Freeform, but much more happiness, maggie stiefvater - Freeform, please ignore the timeline - it probaby doesn't make much sense but time's a circle so, proud Ronan, pynch - Freeform, the gangsey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:47:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23620297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TreesInYourEyes/pseuds/TreesInYourEyes
Summary: The day Adam Parrish receives his Harvard acceptance letter...(and everyone is proud as hell.)
Relationships: Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish
Comments: 8
Kudos: 99





	Veritas

Adam Parrish wasn’t prepared for what was waiting for him as he dragged his exhausted body up the staircase to his tiny apartment above St. Agnes, yearning for nothing but a cold shower after a long day at the garage. Five steps before reaching the door to his rather bleak room, he stopped promptly, his keys dangling noisily from his fingers as his eyes caught a white envelope that was lying right in front of the threshold to his room. It wasn’t an unusual sight – many Colleges were sending out their letters these days so Adam received a handful every week, one rejection more painful than the other. Just a few days ago, Princeton had denied him a place – shattering Adam’s dream of studying in an Ivy League not too far away from Henrietta.

But this was different. This envelope was slightly bigger than any of the others he had received so far and it wore the famous red emblem of Harvard University.

 _Harvard_.

Over forty thousand students applied yearly. The acceptance rate not higher than four point seven percent. Could he be one of them? Could this really be possible?

Adam’s breath caught and his heart started racing as he let himself imagine it for a moment: _Adam Parrish, Harvard student._

He pictured himself walking through the iron gate at the entrance to the College’s campus. He pictured himself sitting in a lecture, his sleeves neatly cuffed, his trousers clean. He pictured himself walking the hallways, red banners covering the walls, a sea of students spilling around him. For a moment he could imagine it. For a moment he saw himself belong there.

And then he remembered the Adam Parrish, who was currently covered in car grease and sweat after another day at work. Adam Parrish, who had been joggling three jobs just to be able to attend Aglionby Academy. Adam Parrish, who was even now two months behind with paying the rent for his sad excuse of a home.

This Adam Parrish could never belong in a place like Harvard.

This Adam Parrish couldn’t be one of the 4.7 percent.

Suddenly the envelope seemed much smaller than it had a minute before and the hope in his chest made room for worry. What would he do if no College wanted him? What if it all had been for nothing?

Slowly, he took the last few steps that led to his apartment and stepped carefully over the intimidating envelope before unlocking the door. He glanced over his shoulder and stared at the Harvard motto that was printed on the left corner of the envelope. _Veritas_. The Latin word for _Truth._

He felt like he already knew the truth, like he had always known it – Adam Parrish, trailer trash boy: born and buried in dirt.

But he needed to know – he needed to know if all the effort, all the sacrifices he had made, had been able to change the truth. If _he had_ been able to change it.

He needed to open that letter. But not here. Not alone.

He forced himself to look away from his square-shaped future, pushed the door open and rushed towards the shower to wash off the day’s exertion. As soon as he was dressed in fresh clothes, he grabbed the keys to Ronan’s BMW, which he had borrowed this morning because his own car was still refusing to drive for a reason he was trying to figure out for weeks, swooped up the envelope without studying it any further and headed down the stairs again.

It had been barely a year but the drive to the Barns had already become second nature to Adam. Before graduation, he had visited Ronan Lynch almost every single day, spending the evening or sometimes even the night at his boyfriend’s childhood home before leaving again when school or work demanded his attendance. Once school was over and their two best friends Richard Campbell Gansey III and Blue Sargent left for a cross-country road trip, Adam had spent even more time at Ronan’s family home. Adam still had his own apartment but they barely spent any time there together – if you had the choice between a sticky one-room flat and an idyllic farmhouse surrounded by fields and dream creatures, the former one was hardly appealing. So as the weeks went on, Adam was spending more and more of his time at the Barns – only leaving when he had work to do at the garage or when he needed to check in with his room at St. Agnes. In fact, Adam was spending so much time at the Barns these days, in some way it already felt like his home, too. Like the home, he had never had of his own. A home in which every brick and every nook, just as the Lynch family itself, had been shaped by two different types of magic: love and dreams.

Adam drove up the driveway that led to the main building, the white wood paneling slowly emerging from behind the old oak trees that surrounded the Lynches estate. This place was so isolated from any civilization, the only noises left were the melodies of songbirds and cicadas as well as the soft howling of the wind as it drove its slow circles across the wide fields. As soon as Adam had parked the black BMW next to his dead Hondayota that was currently resting on four wooden blocks, he grabbed the still unopened Harvard letter from the passenger seat and got out of the car. His restless thoughts immediately quietened a little as he breathed in the soothing smell of the Barns – the smell of summer, nature and dreams. Of home.

A mild evening breeze brushed against his face, smoothing out the worried furrow between his eyebrows. No matter how anxious he was, this place always managed to smooth out the hardest edges of his seething anxiety. How much he loved it. How much he would miss it once he had to leave.

Adam crossed the front porch and pushed the entrance door open, its rusty hinges giving away a familiar creak as he stepped over the doorway. Before he could even kick off his shoes, a black raven was flinging down at him, flapping its wings excitedly just above his head while creaking his name.

_“Atom! Atom!”_

One second and a loud rumble later, another dream creature lunged at him, clinging to his leg while making gleeful, high-pitched noises in a language only a sleeping dreamer could understand.

“Yeah, I missed you, too,” Adam mumbled with a smile while curling one hand around Opal’s head, the other trying to fight off Chainsaw, who was aiming for the envelope Adam clutched protectively to his chest.

“For fuck’s sake, don’t murder him!” Ronan Lynch appeared in the doorway that led to the kitchen, wearing a black T-shirt and jeans as well as a loose smile that grew to a stupid grin as he saw how Adam was struggling with untying his shoelaces while being attacked by both of Ronan’s psychopomps.

“It’s been less than twelve hours,” Adam said, having to sit down on the floor, the Harvard letter somewhere crushed underneath him, because Opal was trying to climb up his leg, which was more painful than it sounded because Opal had solid hooves instead of soft human feet. Now she sat down on his left thigh and started hugging his arm. He leaned forward and gave the little dream girl a kiss on her head. “How will they survive when I’m gone for several weeks?”

It was meant as a joke, really, but Adam saw the smile on Ronan’s face crack at this unwelcome reminder that life as it was, was only temporary, that Adam would be leaving this state in a not too far away future.

“They will for sure annoy the hell out of me,” Ronan said, pulling his smile back on, maybe deceiving himself but not Adam. With a flick of his hand, he ordered Chainsaw, who had started picking at Adam’s shoelaces, to leave them alone. The raven lady wasn’t delighted about the fact that only she was dismissed and not Opal so she leaped at the goat-legged girl, making her squeal and let go of Adam’s arm before they chased each other down the hallway, leaving the two boys behind.

Adam, who was still sitting on the ground, glanced after them and shook his head.

_When had this become my life?_

After he finally managed to get out off his shoes, he grabbed Ronan’s outstretched hand that pulled him up to his feet. Ronan’s smile seemed honest again, as Adam closed the space between them and pulled him in for a kiss.

“I just made dinner, you want some?” Ronan said when they broke apart after a few seconds.

“You made _dinner_?”, Adam asked with raised eyebrows, knowing Ronan too well than to trust such a blunt assertion.

Ronan just kissed Adam’s forehead before letting go of him and hurried back into the kitchen. Adam picked up the slightly crumpled envelope that was still lying next to his abandoned shoes and followed Ronan.

The kitchen was as messy as it always was – clothes and empty cans of takeout food scattered all over the place – but it was still Adam’s favorite room inside this house. It was just so… _lived in_. So _homely_. Large windows were framing the walls and the last rays of today’s sunshine dipped the entire room into a warm light. Adam sat down at the round kitchen table while Ronan pulled some halfway eaten pizza out of a microwave, that had neither any control panels nor any sign that it was plugged into electricity. Almost nothing in here abided to the rules of physics. And why would it? – it had always been the home of dreamers and dreams simply didn’t care about any rules.

“Heated up leftovers from the weekend hardly count as dinner, Lynch,” Adam said as he laid his envelope on the table in front of him. With his fingers, he lightly traced the letters that formed his name right above his address. The anxiety that had vanished for the last few seconds suddenly crashed back down on him, making his heart pound louder in his chest.

“Nobody needs this negativity right now, Parrish.” Ronan was busy cutting the pizza in more eatable pieces as he lifted his head and saw Adam being all mesmerized by the parcel in front of him. 

“Who’s that from?”

“Harvard.”

Clattering, the knife dropped onto the counter as Ronan rushed next to Adam to take the letter out of his hands. Adam watched Ronan’s face attentively as he stared at the red Harvard emblem. Then he turned it around in his hands as if to make sure it was real.

“Holy shit, Parrish. That’s a big one. Did you already –”

“No, not yet.” Adam shook his head and took a deep breath. His hands started shaking so he clenched them into fists to make them stop. Ronan caught his eyes, probably recognizing the worried lines on his face. He sat down on a chair so he was facing Adam and carefully placed the letter between them. They both just stared at it for a while like it was a bomb and neither of them knew which wire to cut first. Ronan chewed on the leather around his wrist while Adam was pressing his hands against his chest, desperately trying to slow his heartbeat.

 _He needed to get in. He needed to get in. He needed to get in_.

After two minutes of dreadful silence, Ronan asked hesitantly: “You want me to open it for you?”

“I think… I think I need to do it myself.”

Ronan nodded like he understood, his mouth a tense line as Adam cautiously started to pry the envelope open. His hands were irrepressibly trembling as he pulled out the paper and gently unfolded it. He took a deep breath and started reading. He read the first line once. Then he read it over and over again.

_Dear Mr. Parrish,_

_I’m delighted to inform you, that the Committee on Admission, has admitted you to this year’s class of Harvard College. Congratulations!_

“And? What does it say?” Ronan kicked Adam’s leg underneath the table.

“ _Oh my god_ ,” Adam’s voice sounding more breathless than he wanted it to, while his eyes were still glued to the few words that laid out his future clearer than any tarot cards could. “Ronan, I think – I think I’m in. I got admitted to Harvard!”

Ronan ripped the letter out of Adam’s still shaking hands and skimmed the unmistakable lines. Then, a huge grin unfurled on his face.

“Adam _fucking_ Parrish, you did it! You fucking did it!” Ronan jumped up from his chair, the letter still in his hand and within a nanosecond he was behind Adam, slinging his arms around Adam’s narrow shoulders. Adam wanted to reach for the paper to read it again but Ronan tossed it onto the table and pulled his slightly bewildered friend to his feet for a proper embrace.

Ronan Lynch’s laugh was full of joyous pride as he hugged Adam close, lifting him off his feet and swirling him around. Adam was still taken aback by the sudden jolt of joy that had filled the room but now after a few seconds of processing the news, it was finally sinking in:

He, Adam Parrish, had been accepted to Harvard. It hadn’t all been for nothing. He was going to study in Cambridge and nothing and no one could stop him anymore.

He let out a relieved, haggard laugh, letting go of the exhaustion and anxiety that had raged inside of him over the past days – no, over the past _years._ He pressed his face to Ronan’s neck, letting himself being absorbed into the dreamer’s cheerful happiness as he kept spinning Adam around, making them both get dizzy while stumbling messily through the kitchen. Their laughter soon filled the entire house and Opal and Chainsaw bolted back into the room to make sure their human friends weren’t dying. Chainsaw croaked loudly, circling above their heads while Opal squeaked, _“Joy joy joy!”_ as she saw the huge grins on both boy’s faces. Eventually, their laughter got drowned out by kisses until they had to stop to catch their breaths. For a few silent minutes, they just stood knotted together in the middle of the room, Ronan’s arms wound around Adam’s waist, Adam’s arms slung around Ronan’s neck, forehead resting against forehead.

“I’m going to Harvard,” Adam whispered, his voice still full of disbelief.

“God damn you are,” Ronan grinned, drunken on joy. “Let’s call Gansey! He will freak when he hears the news!”

The last time they had heard from Gansey as well as Blue Sargent, Henry Cheng and their orange Camaro, the trio was currently somewhere near Mexico – Blue had sent Ronan a picture: each of them wearing a sombrero and a huge grin. Ronan had sent back a picture of him, Adam and Chainsaw eating Mexican take-out food on the front porch.

Things were different since they had left. Quieter. Adam missed their loud, wild drives with the Pig, the four of them squeezed into Gansey’s beloved car, Gansey complaining about Ronan’s music, Blue laughing at something Ronan had said, Adam in between, always a little quieter than the rest but nonetheless a part of this vibrant happiness. He missed their trips to Nino’s and the nights that were downright buzzing with magic, that felt like anything was possible. He missed their hunt for dead Welsh kings, for sleeping demons, for the uncanny, for purpose. He missed Gansey’s excitement and Blue’s wonder. He missed Cabeswater.

As Adam looked at Ronan now – who was currently kneeling on the floor, digging through a pile of clothes on the search for his phone – he was suddenly nothing but scared by the thought of leaving. Everything in him wanted to go to Harvard and at the same time, he wanted nothing more than stay. Just a year ago, he would have done everything to get as far away from this state as possible, but things had changed.

There would be no magic in Cambridge, no dreams, no Ronan. No home.

 _Home_.

The thrill from a minute before suddenly weighted down his heart, making it already ache for all the things he was about to leave behind.

“Ronan,” Adam started, not sure what exactly he wanted to say just knowing that he needed to do something or he would fall apart right here, right now. Ronan fished his phone out of a black sea of sweatshirts in which Opal was currently building herself a nest but when he looked up, he immediately sensed Adam’s shift in emotion. The grin on his face turned into something softer, something that made Adam’s heart twinge even more. Instead of getting back up, he reached for Adam’s hand and pulled him with him onto the floor, so that they both ended up sitting cross-legged in front of each other. Opal, more than delighted by the two of them joining her, crawled onto Adam’s lap. Ronan rolled his eyes at her before taking both of Adam’s hands in his and kissing them. Adam swallowed hard, another wave of painful nostalgia washing over him.

“Let’s call Gansey and Sargent, tell them what a hell of a genius you are and then we just pretend like this night is never going to end, deal?”

“Joy,” Opal mumbled in a sweet voice and hugged their entangled hands, glancing up at Adam’s face with her huge eyes. “Not sad!”

“What she said.”

Adam stared at the two pairs of blue eyes that were looking right through him, telling him it was okay to shove their bleeding hearts aside for just a little while longer. To not worry about tomorrow just yet.

And so they did.

Ronan ordered Chainsaw to get the Harvard letter from the table for them – in exchange he promised her some pizza crust later, while he and Adam got comfortable on the floor and leaned their backs against the kitchen counter, Opal sitting in front of them, chewing on some styrofoam she had dug up somewhere. Then Ronan speed-dialed Gansey’s number and leaning shoulder on shoulder, they waited for the call to go through.

After a few seconds, their friend’s familiar face appeared on the small screen.

“ _Ronan?_ Are you okay? Did something happen?” Gansey’s voice sounded like he was on the verge of panic, probably because Ronan hardly ever called him. He normally texted him or Gansey called or Adam called Gansey from his landline. _Ronan_ only called in emergencies. Adam opened his mouth to tell Gansey that this was the opposite of an emergency but Ronan was faster, because he held the acceptance letter in front of the camera, a smug smirk on his face.

Gansey frowned confused and moved his phone closer to his face so that for a moment, they only saw a slightly pixeled version of Gansey’s furrowed forehead and the wireframe glasses that covered his eyes.

“Wait. Is this… Jesus Christ, _Adam!_ ”

What followed, was filling Adam’s chest with so much feeling, he could nearly handle it. The screen went black for a second like Gansey had dropped his phone and all they could hear was a loud “JANE, YOU NEED TO SEE THIS!” followed by some muffled rumbling and suddenly Blue’s puzzled face appeared next to Gansey’s beaming one. It took her only two seconds to understand and then she started screaming – so shrill that Ronan’s phone speaker struggled and made some very unpleasant noises, which then again startled Chainsaw, making her attack the phone. Ronan needed to shoo her away while on the other side of the line, their best friends cheering got Henry’s attention and a third face appeared on the screen, demanding to know _what the hell was going on here!_ Blue just hugged him and Gansey stormily while screaming _“Adam got into Harvard! Adam got into Harvard!”_ over and over again, jumping up and down. Gansey nearly dropped the phone again before he turned his attention back to the screen and started a whole-hearted speech about how proud he was and that he had always known Adam would make it to an Ivy League one day and that it was everything he had worked so hard for and everything he deserved. Blue and Henry mocked Gansey with having to wipe tears from his eyes but Gansey refused to be humbled for being _nothing but earnest_ and they all started laughing so hard, it was like old times, like they were all together in the same room for just this moment, like there weren’t thousands of miles between them.

And Adam felt loved, so so loved and eventually their road-tripping friends had to hang up because they wanted to go that festival, but promised to send them pictures tomorrow and how much they missed them and _Adam Parrish, don’t you dare to doubt only for a second that you don’t deserve that place._ _Don’t give me that look, Lynch, I know you feel the same._ And Ronan told Gansey to keep it in his pants and before Gansey could start another monologue, Blue ripped the phone out of his hand and wished them all a good night. Opal climbed behind them and waved goodbye, styrofoam sticking to her teeth, and then they finally hung up and the room was silent again.

But not for long, because Ronan turned up his stereo and put the long-forgotten pizza back into the dreamt microwave. And then they started waltzing through the kitchen, Ronan singing along to the music, bullying Adam into joining him.

And even though their hearts were already bleeding, they could bear the pain because the truth was that even when Adam left, all _this_ wouldn’t be going anywhere. The truth was that Adam would go to Harvard but that he would always come back home eventually.

_Amor vincit omnia._

_Vincit omnia veritas._

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! :) Tell me about your thoughts in the comments - it would mean the world to me! <3


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